Noel
by Nyneve
Summary: *COMPLETE!* Kiyone can't forgive herself for what happened to Mihoshi. Her new partner, Quatre, takes it upon himself to show her that Christmas is a season for forgiving and second chances. Tenchi Muyo/Gundam Wing
1. Part 1

Noel

Part 1

Author: Nyneve

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Yes, I realize it is only November, but if you want me to finish this ficcie in time for Christmas I have to start it now! Okay, one thing to make clear. KIYONE AND QUATRE ARE FRIENDS/PARTNERS! NOTHING MORE! IS THAT UNDERSTOOD? Good. This is not a romance ficcie. All right then, go ahead and read.

-Nyneve

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The first noel

The angel did say

Was to certain poor shepherds

In fields as they lay

In fields where they lay

Keeping their sheep

On a cold winters night

That was so deep

Kiyone looked up from her computer to see Mihoshi come in the apartment door smiling brightly. She raised an eyebrow.

"What are you so happy about?" she asked. Mihoshi didn't answer. She just continued grinning then pulled out a package from behind her back. It was wrapped in dark blue wrapping paper sprinkled with gold stars and snowflakes. 

"Merry Christmas Kiyone!" she cried, putting the present in her partner's lap. Kiyone smiled.

"Mihoshi, it isn't Christmas for another month! Why are you giving me this now?" she asked. Mihoshi shrugged.

"I don't know. I saw it in a store today and thought of you. And well, with the snow," she pointed outside, where it was snowing lightly. "I was just in a Christmas mood. Open it!"

Kiyone smiled, then shook her head as she carefully unwrapped the gift. It was a silver jewelry box, and on the front was an old-fashioned Christmas scene, with a woman looking at a Christmas tree.

"Mihoshi, it's beautiful," Kiyone murmured, then opened the box. Tinkly music wafted out, and Kiyone recognized the tune as "The First Noel". It was her favorite Christmas carol, as well as Mihoshi's.

"I'm glad you like it Kiyone," Mihoshi grinned, then sat down at a desk opposite of her partner. Kiyone closed the music box, put it on the desk, and resumed typing. 

In the back of her mind, she thought about how much she hated having to "look after" Mihoshi. True, the girl was kind and innocent, but she was such an airhead that Kiyone was worried about even letting her go shopping by herself. Still, there was something about her, within her childlike affection and naivete that was extremely endearing. 

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The next day was Sunday, the day Kiyone and Mihoshi were supposed to have off. Still, Kiyone was upset about a hijacker who had been attacking transport vessels on the edge of the Solar System. She insisted on going into HQ to keep working on the case.

So, while Kiyone was diligently working Mihoshi was eating M&M's and spinning around on her desk chair. Suddenly, the phone rang.

"Hello?" Kiyone answered, picking it up. 

"Galaxy Police? This is 911 dispatch. We've got a hijacking in the R-13 sector," the operator said.

"Okay, we're on it," Kiyone said, grabbing the keys to Yagami. "Come on Mihoshi!" 

Mihoshi immediately stood up, giving herself the headrush from Hades. 

"Mihoshi!" Kiyone yelled impatiently. "Stop goofing around!"

"Coming!" Mihoshi added, bounding after her.

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Sweat poured off of Kiyone's forehead. They had managed to track down the hijacker to a small, but populated, asteroid. Now, she and Mihoshi were at a standoff with him at a small warehouse.

"Where'd he go Kiyone?" Mihoshi asked loudly. She was answered by a shower of bullets.

"Mihoshi get down!" Kiyone screamed, pulling her partner to the ground. "I swear to God you are the Queen of the Idiots!" 

"I'm sorry!" Mihoshi cried, tears welling up in her eyes. Suddenly, a shadow loomed over them. The police officers leapt up, and darted behind a pile of boxes. Unfortunately, the area behind the box was a corner. The hijacker had them trapped.

Kiyone pulled out her gun and loaded it. Her opponent chose this moment to fire. But before the bullet could enter her body, something jumped in front of her. A blond, blue-eyed something.

"MIHOSHI!" Kiyone screamed as her friend fell the floor bleeding. The bullet had entered her side, and she was gasping for breath.

"Kiyone…" Mihoshi murmured, losing consciousness. Kiyone broke into tears, then glared up at the hijacker.

"YOU F****** B*******! GO TO H***!" she screamed, firing madly at him. But her tears and emotions destroyed her aim, and he escaped. 

Kiyone barely had time to radio for help before she collapsed in sobs next to her dying partner.

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Aww, that's so sad! :'-( Please R+R everyone!


	2. Part 2

Noel

Part 2

Author: Nyneve

Okay, here's the second part of the story. You know, I was just reading some stuff and I realized I have about um a lot of ficcies I have no intent of finishing. PLEASE PRAY THIS ISN'T ONE OF THEM! Well, that's all of an intro for today. I'm lazy. Don't own the anime.

-Nyneve

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Silent Night

Holy Night

All is calm

All is bright

Round yon Virgin

Mother and Child

Holy infant so

Tender and mild

Sleep in heavenly peace

Sleep in heavenly peace

Two weeks. Two Goddamn weeks of torment and torture. Two weeks without her best friend. Two weeks since Mihoshi's funeral.

Kiyone stared outside at the endless stars. Was Mihoshi one of them now? Was that what happened when you died? 

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God I hope so. If anyone deserved to become a star, it was you, Mihoshi she thought to herself. 

After Mihoshi's death, Kiyone couldn't bring herself to go to the funeral. She hadn't stepped foot inside of the police station. A secretary would call every day, just to make sure she was all right. And alive.

Despite her inner torment and torture, all thoughts of suicide had been driven from Kiyone's mind. Not that she felt that she didn't deserve death. In her opinion, death would be a reward, an easy way out. She didn't deserve that. Instead of Death in Heaven, she chose Life in Hell.

Suddenly, she turned around and walked over to her desk. Mihoshi's music box stood still on top of it, silent. Kiyone stared at it angrily, then put it in a drawer. Then, she went around the apartment, taking all of the things that reminded her of Mihoshi and putting them in the drawer. Finally, she shut it and locked it, throwing the key on the floor and breaking into tears. Again.

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Bring! Bring!

Kiyone let the phone ring, assuming that it was just another annoying secretary. But the message on the answering machine wasn't that of the secretary. It was louder, and more demanding.

"God Damn it! Pick up the phone Kiyone!" the police chief ordered. Raising an eyebrow, Kiyone answered it.

"Yes?" she asked in a monotone, the way she'd taken to speaking.

"Kiyone, why the hell aren't you here?" the chief asked.

"I-I-I couldn't come sir," Kiyone answered. 

"Bulls***. I realize you're shaken up about Mihoshi. We all are. But that is no excuse for you to quit coming to work! Now I expect you down here in an hour, do you understand Kiyone?" the chief ordered. 

"Yes sir," Kiyone answered. She expected the chief to hang up, but he didn't. In fact, his voice softened and became gentle, almost reassuring.

"I know you're not quite ready for a new partner yet, but I've had you reassigned. He's a rookie, just out of the academy. You can think of him more as your apprentice than your partner. But please Kiyone, just come back," he asked. 

"Yes sir," Kiyone repeated, then hung up.

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After a shower and a change of clothes, Kiyone arrived in the police chief's office. He was a big, muscular man, with gray hair and hard eyes from seeing too much. But still, he generally cared for people, even if he was harsh with words.

"Good Kiyone, you showed up," he smiled. "Have a seat. Coffee?"

"Yes, please," she answered, taking a seat across from his desk.

"Sugar, no cream?" the chief guessed, hoping she still liked her old favorite. But she shook her head.

"Black," she said simply. He bit his lip and poured the coffee, then handed it to her. 

Kiyone had changed so much. The woman who was once the pride of the Galaxy Police was nothing more than a ghost, a phantom of something that did nothing more than it was ordered to. It seemed as though her teal hair had gone dull, and her eyes were still red from all of her days of crying. 

"Now then, let's get down to business. Your new partner," the chief started. 

"What about him?" Kiyone asked. The chief pulled out a folder, then extracted an info sheet.

"His name's Quatre Raberba Winner. Comes from Earth. Had a lot of experience in combat when he was younger. After the wars on Earth, he decided to join GP. He's very gifted in hand-to-hand combat, and graduated from the Academy at the top of his class. Still though, it would do both of you good to be partnered up. A challenge for him, a project for you," the chief paused, then pulled out a photograph of Kiyone's new partner. She gasped. 

He had platinum blond hair and large blue eyes that seemed to read your thoughts. His face was kind and gentle, and he was smiling brightly. In other words, a male version of Mihoshi.

"Is this some kind of sick joke?" Kiyone yelled, jumping up. "Partnering me with a reincarnation of Mihoshi?" 

It was unusual for her to act so irrational. But now that she had lost the one thing that was important to her, all of her common sense was gone. 

"Kiyone, you're being an idiot!" the chief said.

"So what? Who gives a s*** if I am? You think you can make it better? You think you can fix everything inside of me that's broken by partnering me with someone like him? Hell you can. I'm outta here," she snarled, slamming her coffee mug against the desk and heading out the door.

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She knelt over the grave of her best friend. 

"God Damn it Mihoshi! Why the Hell did you have to jump in the way? Why did you have to save me? You didn't deserve to die, and you didn't deserve to live in Hell, like me. You are such an idiot!" Kiyone screamed, kneeling over Mihoshi's grave, tears blurring her eyes. 

She didn't notice the car pulling up. 

She didn't notice the young man walking up behind her.

And she didn't notice his hand on her shoulder.

"Please Miss, it's getting cold. You really shouldn't be out in this weather," a soft voice asked. Kiyone looked up, her eyes looking with someone else's.

She was silent for a while, as she stared at him. "You're Quatre, aren't you?"

He smiled. "Yes I am. You're Officer Makibi, right?" 

"Yeah. And you can go tell the chief to stay the hell out of my business," she muttered. 

"The chief didn't ask me to come. I came by myself. I wanted to meet you," Quatre said. Kiyone stared at him. Not only did he look like Mihoshi, but he was just as innocent and endearing as her. 

"Well then, you've met me. Now goodbye," she said, standing up. 

"Um, do you need a ride home? I don't see a car anywhere, and it's getting cold. I'd be glad to give you a ride," he offered. Kiyone was about to say more, but froze. He was giving her the look. The pleading look that said "I'm worried about you. Please, just do this so that I know you'll be all right.". The look that was Mihoshi's.

"Fine. Whatever," Kiyone said, as she followed him over to the car, cursing herself and Fate for it's cruel ways.

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Hm. I think someone has some issues that they should discuss with a psychologist. R+R everyone!


	3. Part 3

Noel

Part 3

Author: Nyneve

Well, here's part three of four. I guess you could arrange this story so that you can read one chapter every week until Christmas. At this time, I would like to wish you all a good whatever holiday you celebrate. Or, if you don't celebrate any holidays, I would like to say good luck to everyone out there. I'm realizing how many people out there aren't happy, and I hope that as you read this you aren't one of them. Peace my friends.

-Nyneve

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O come, all ye faithful

Joyful and triumphant

O come, ye o come ye

To Bethlehem

O come let us adore Him

O come let us adore Him

O come let us adore Him

Christ the Lord

Christmas was getting closer and closer. Oddly enough, Kiyone's attitude drastically changed. Instead of staying home feeling sorry for herself, she was working insane hours, sometimes through the night. Quatre was getting worried.

"Kiyone?" he asked, glancing over at her. Her face was glued to the computer screen, but she raised her hand, showing that she realized his presence.

"What?" she responded, not looking at him. Cautiously, Quatre approached her desk.

"How long have you been working?" 

"I came in last night when I couldn't sleep. I've been working since then," she answered flatly. 

"On what? There haven't been any calls in about three days," he commented. Kiyone, for once, faced him. Her face had grown pale and gaunt, and her eyes were no longer large and sad, but dark and hard. 

"It's a personal mission I've been working on for myself. I don't want or need your help," she snapped. He took a step back, slightly hurt at her remark.

It had only been about two or three weeks since Quatre had first met Kiyone in the cemetery by Mihoshi's grave, but he was starting to feel as though he'd known her forever. Despite the fact she hardly spoke to him, or that when she did it was usually hostile, he knew she wasn't really like that.

In truth, if Mihoshi had been alive, and Kiyone was her normal self, she probably would've gotten on quite well with Quatre. He reminded her so much of Mihoshi. He wanted to take care of her so badly, but whenever there was a confrontation between the police and the criminals, it seemed as though Quatre was always the one getting shot at. 

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What the Hell are you doing Makibi? Kiyone asked herself. _What would Mihoshi think if she saw you like this? You need to be there for the civilians that need your protection, the police force that needs your help, and your partner that needs your guidance._

"Quatre, I…" she paused, trying to think of words. "I'm sorry. I'm not trying to blow you off or anything."

"I know. You're under a lot of stress, aren't you?" Quatre asked gently. She nodded, then pointed to the screen. 

"Eli Rose? Who's he?" he asked, looking at her work. 

"He's the head of a ring of car thieves. A while back, my partner and I had a little face off with him," Kiyone explained grimly.

"You mean, he was the one…" _who killed Mihoshi?_ Quatre couldn't bring himself to finish the question. However, Kiyone understood and nodded.

"I decided when I came back that I would do everything I could to make him sorry for what he did to Mihoshi," she murmured, more to herself than to anyone else. Quatre pondered his next words carefully.

"You really miss her, don't you?" he asked. 

"More than anything. She was my best friend. I don't have any family or other friends, really. Without Mihoshi, I'm alone," she whispered.

"No you're not," Quatre said, taking her hand. "You still have me. I want to help you Kiyone. If not by helping you track down Mihoshi's murderer, then at least by being your friend."

She stared at him, letting his words sink into her very soul. Then, for the first time in ages, Kiyone actually smiled. _She wasn't alone_. The very thought gave her so much hope.

"Thank you, Quatre. Thank you so much," she grinned, standing up and hugging him tightly. "Hey, let's get lunch, okay? My treat. I'm starving!"

She pulled on her jacket, then flicked off the office light, happier than she had been in a long time.

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Two days later was Friday. Kiyone had begged and pleaded with the police chief to give Quatre and herself time away from HQ. Of course, they could be called in an emergency, but more than anything she wanted a break. Just some time to bring herself back from wherever she'd been.

Now, Kiyone had even gotten the heart back to drag Quatre to the mall to buy Christmas presents for his friends and family. 

"So, remind me again how many people we have to buy for," she asked as they passed by store after store at the mall.

"Well, there's my parents, my sisters…" before he could continue, Kiyone cut him off.

"You have sisters? How many?" she asked. 

"29. I come from a big family," Quatre answered. 

"No kidding. Anyway, I'm sure we can find something for them. If not, gift certificates always work, right? Continue," she said.

"My men, my four friends…I told you about them, right?" he paused. Kiyone blushed.

"Probably. But I most likely didn't pay attention when you did," she mumbled. In truth, she had ignored him a lot before two days ago. He had probably told her his life story twice, and she never would have known.

"Well, anyway, maybe I can tell tonight. Would you like to come over for dinner?" Quatre asked. 

"Sure, thanks," Kiyone smiled, finally glad that her inner turmoil was ending.

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Yay! Happy! J R+R every1!


	4. Part 4

Noel

Part 4

Author: Nyneve

Okay, no serious intro this time. I have difficulties with seriousness-ness-ness-ness (Ooh! Echo-o-o-o!). Anyway, this is the last part because this is a short ficcie meant to get everyone sad. Then you can go read my other stuff to get happy (Might I recommend Black Hole?). Yes, it's all a scam to get you to read my ficcies! Muhahahahahahahaha! *deep breaths* Sorry. Oh, and me was bad. Me did not put a disclaimer on the last chappie. BAD NYNEVE! I don't own the anime, now or ever.

-Nyneve

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It came upon a midnight clear

That glorious song of old

From angels bending near the Earth

To touch their harps of gold

Peace on Earth

Goodwill to Men

From Heaven's

All gracious King

The world in solemn stillness lay

To hear the angels sing

"Hey," Kiyone greeted, poking her head into Quatre's office. "What's up?"

"Nothing really. How's the Rose case going?" he responded, curious as to how his partner's "personal mission" was going. She groaned and sat down on the chair against the wall.

"Terrible. No one's seen hide nor hair of the son-of-a-b**** since November," she answered. Quatre smiled reassuringly at her.

"I'm sure something will come up. Or if not, he's already dead and you don't have to worry about him anymore," he replied. For a moment, Kiyone's eyes returned the hard darkness Quatre had seen when he was first getting to know her.

"He'd better not be dead. He's going to pay for what he did to her. I will show him no mercy," she said solemnly.

Silence. It seemed to last for ages before Kiyone smiled and shook her words off.

"Anyways, I wanted to thank you for inviting me over to your house last week. It was a lot of fun. I hope next time I get to meet your friends," she commented. Quatre breathed a sigh of relief, glad that she was back to normal.

"But, I think it's my turn to have you over to my place. It's kind of small, and I'm not the world's greatest cook, but I can make really good soup, and I was hoping you'd help me pick out a Christmas tree after work," she offered. 

"Sure! I'd love to come over to your house," Quatre replied.

"Okay, meet me outside after work. We'll go straight to the tree lot, then back to my apartment. See you then!" she called, heading back down the hall.

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"All right little lady, how about this one?" the sleazy tree-salesman said, holding up a pine that looked as if it were right out of Charlie Brown's Christmas. 

Kiyone stared helplessly at Quatre, silently begging for him to use his perfect manners to free her from the wrath of "Toupee Man".

"Sir, I think we'll just browse ourselves now, thank you. We'll let you know when we're ready," Quatre replied calmly. The salesman scowled, but left anyways. Instantly, Kiyone hugged her partner tightly.

"My hero!" she cried, causing him to blush furiously. 

"It was no problem," he replied. Kiyone just shook her head, then looked around at the trees.

"These are all so huge, there's no way they'd ever fit in my apartment, let alone my car," she sighed. 

"What about this one down here?" Quatre asked, pointing to a medium sized, healthy-looking tree. Slowly, Kiyone circled it, examining for bare spots, dead branches, and any other sort of defects.

"Well, it has a nice shape, and it's not too huge," she checked the price tag. "And it's not too expensive either. Okay! I'll get this one. But uh, could I give you the money and you could pay for it? The salesman scares me."

They both burst into laughter as they carried the tree to the front of the lot.

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"Well, it's up. I guess I'll make dinner before we start to decorate it," Kiyone said, pulling on an apron and taking one more look at the tree in her living room. She headed into the kitchen, followed closely by Quatre.

"I really like your house Kiyone," he complemented as she stirred the soup.

"Thanks. It's small, but cozy. Perfect for one or two people," she remarked. But as soon as the words left her mouth, a jab of pain shot through her. _There were two, but for one person it **is**_ _too big_ she thought.

Twenty minutes later, Kiyone had pulled out the glass ornaments she had bought a few years back. Christmas music was playing on her stereo. Snow was gently falling outside. It was as adorable of a scene as you could imagine.

"Where should this one go Kiyone?" Quatre asked, holding up a clear blue bauble. She giggled.

"Just hang it anywhere Quatre!" she remarked. He blushed.

"Well, since it's your tree I thought that you might have a preference to it's location," he mumbled. Kiyone patted him on the back. 

"Don't worry about it. Oh man," she said. She had dropped the hook to one of the ornaments on the ground (AN: Does that happen to anyone other than me?).

She got down on her hands and knees and felt for it. The tree was right next to her desk, so she figured there was a possibility that it had fallen underneath. As she reached in among the dust and cobwebs, her hand hit something small and made of metal. Confused, she pulled it out, and gasped when she saw what it was.

It was a key.

Quatre watched as she stared at the key. Gently, he touched her shoulder. "Kiyone?"

She didn't speak. She just stared at the key. Then it came to her attention that the song on the stereo had changed from "I Saw Three Ships" to "The First Noel".

Kiyone looked up and smiled at her partner, understanding everything.

"Quatre, I want to show you something," she said softly. She stood up and unlocked the desk drawer that held all of her mementos of Mihoshi. Her hands ran over them lovingly, searching for that one object. Finally, the treasure was found.

It was Mihoshi's music box.

Gingerly, Kiyone opened it. The same old carol quietly wafted out of it, dwarfed by the symphonic rendition coming out of the speakers. But to Kiyone, it was loud and clear.

During this whole time, Quatre remained silent, but when the song ended on both the music box and the stereo, he turned the stereo off.

Kiyone closed the box, and saw the missing hook on the floor. She put it back on the ornament, then hung it on the tree.

"Come on, I'll make some cocoa," she smiled, then headed back out into the kitchen.

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The next morning when Quatre went down to breakfast, he found a plain, unmarked envelope sitting at the table for him.

"Where'd this come from?" he wondered, opening it. Inside was a letter, written in Kiyone's perfect writing.

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Dear Mihoshi

I'm not afraid to call you by your name anymore. I can't even imagine why I was in the first place. Maybe it was because I was afraid that it was too good to be true. But you've been alive the whole time Mihoshi, and I'm glad.

I'm writing this letter for two reasons. The first is to say thank you. You've always been there for me. When I was sad, you'd take me out for karaoke or to the bathhouse. And when I needed help, you were there to protect me. Ever since we were assigned to be partners, I've had a guardian angel. And I didn't even know it. So thank you, for being whatever it took for me to be happy.

The second reason I'm writing is to say don't worry. Despite what you may think, Mihoshi, you're not dead. Not yet. Eli Rose was going to kill me, and you jumped in the way. But the truth is, his aim was terrible, and neither of us got hit. But I think because you wanted to save me so much, you were willing to believe that you died for me, and were reincarnated as Quatre, so that I wouldn't be alone.

Don't worry Mihoshi. You weren't destined to die. However, I was, and you can't stop that. After I you read this letter, it'll be over. These last few weeks we've had together were the final hurrah. It's my time to go. And please Mihoshi; don't be sad when I die. Because I'm not leaving you alone. Now, it's my turn to be the guardian angel.

Best Friends Forever,

Kiyone

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Bang!

The sound of the gun going off echoed through the warehouse as Kiyone's gun fired at her attacker. But it wasn't just one gun that had fired. It was two that had gone off simultaneously. Mihoshi looked up from the cement floor just in time to see Eli Rose and Kiyone both fall to the ground.

"Kiyone no!" Mihoshi ran to her friend and knelt over her. Kiyone smiled up weakly.

"Hey Mihoshi. I'm sorry for what I said before. You know, the whole 'Queen of Idiots' thing," she apologized.

"It's all right. Just hold on Kiyone! We'll get you to a doctor…" her dying partner cut her off.

"Don't you ever listen to me Mihoshi? Don't worry. You'll be all right," she took one last breath. "Looks like my ride's here. Good luck."

And with that, she died.

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Mihoshi slowly spun around on her desk chair, eating M&M's like she had done weeks before, on the day Kiyone died. She was heartbroken, but she still had hope. Kiyone's promise to be the guardian angel gave her the strength to keep going.

Suddenly, her phone rang.

"Hello?" she asked glumly. It was the chief of police. 

"Hello Mihoshi. How're you doing?" he asked. Mihoshi sighed.

"Fine, I guess," she answered.

"Mihoshi, I want you to come down to my office. Your new partner's arrived," the chief said, then hung up. Mihoshi's eyes widened at the thought that it might, just might be who she thought it was.

When she finally got to the office, she saw a tall man standing next to the chief. He had brown hair that covered half of his face, revealing only one of his green eyes. Mihoshi smiled brightly at him.

"Mihoshi, this is your new partner, Trowa Barton," the chief said. Mihoshi nodded. Trowa stared at her, slightly confused, but filled with the sense that he knew what she was doing.

However, the police chief was utterly and thoroughly befuddled, bemused, and bewildered. "Well, um, why don't you show Trowa your office, or something, Mihoshi?"

She nodded and led him out of the chief's office, then hugged him tightly. Completely sure of what was going on, Trowa hugged back. Then, Mihoshi grinned up at him.

"Welcome back…Kiyone."

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ALL OVER! HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE! R+R!


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